Jamie Lee Curtis shares personal story of addiction, views ‘getting sober’ as ‘greatest accomplishment’

Jamie Lee Curtis gets candid for the first time about how she lived through her secret opiate addiction, which dates back to the late 1980s.

Jamie Lee Curtis has been on our list of stars we admire for years. And now we admire Curtis even more for her courage in sharing her personal story of addiction, which she just revealed to People.

Looking back, Curtis remembers receiving a prescription for opiates in 1989. The medication was given to the actress after she underwent plastic surgery for what she calls her “hereditary puffy eyes.”

Following that prescription, Curtis says she sought various ways to get more of the pain medication.  The 59-year-old actress even stole medication from her family, one of whom was her big sister, Kelly. In 1998, Kelly became the first individual to learn about Curtis’ addiction.

The Halloween actress isn’t the only one in her family to have struggled with addiction. Curtis’ half-brother, Nicholas, passed away in 1994 following a heroin overdose. Her father, the famous actor Tony Curtis, was known to have battled addictions to cocaine and heroin as well as alcohol abuse.

The True Lies actress commented on the highly publicized opiate addiction epidemic of today, describing herself as “ahead of the curve of the opiate epidemic.” But Curtis hid her struggles for years, she admits now. She describes her years of addiction as consisting of a “10-year run, stealing, conniving.”

As for who knew about Curtis’ battle?

“No one knew. No one,” shared the actress.

In February 1999, Curtis headed to her first recovery meeting. That first meeting led to the actress’ confession to her husband, Christopher Guest, about her addiction. Curtis and the actor-director have been married for 33 years and have two children. Her daughter Annie is 31, while her son Tom is 22.

After almost two decades of sobriety, Curtis still attends recovery meetings. She is known for providing help to those who continue to struggle.

“In recovery meetings, anyone who brings up opiates, the entire room will turn and look at me, because I’ll be like, ‘Oh here, talk to me. I’m the opiate girl,'” added Curtis.

Curtis is candid about her pride in “breaking the cycle that has basically destroyed the lives of generations in my family.” And beyond her marriage, her children, and her career, the actress views “getting sober” as her “single greatest accomplishment.”

We applaud Curtis for sharing this personal story with us, and for furthering awareness about addiction and how those battling with it can seek help.

If you or someone you know is seeking treatment or information regarding substance abuse, you can contact SAMHSA’s National Helpline 24/7 at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).